Dear Students,
What does it mean to “live with integrity and purpose?” What does it mean to “be a contributing member of society?” Having some answers to those questions is important to us because each question is related to a promise that we, your teachers, have made to you. It is our school’s Mission to teach, to guide, and to support each student toward a goal – that goal being to live with integrity and purpose as a contributing member of society. It is our mission to nurture the growth of your talent in the service of human freedom and a humane society.
So what does it mean to be a contributing member of society? It means pitching in, it means leveraging your considerable talents, skills and relationships to improve the lives of the people in your community – whether that be our school community or one much larger. Contributing to the greater good nearly always implies making something good happen – building what wasn’t there before, changing the status quo, creating, leaving a legacy, making your mark.
Several months ago, I saw a wonderful documentary about a group of people living in Central China in a village plagued by the pollution resulting from a nearby unregulated chemical factory. Recognizing that none of them could do alone what all of them might be able to accomplish together, they persisted in a five-year struggle to stop the pollution. Affixing their fingerprints to petitions, they literally “made their marks” in support of their common cause and as contributing members of their society. The filmmakers who chronicled the villagers’ struggle also “made their mark.” Once the story had been told and memorialized on film, it was nearly impossible for government authorities to ignore the petitions.
This year, please think about ways that you can contribute to the greater good of your community. Dream big! Imagine ways that you can make your mark in service to others, and let us know how we can help you realize those dreams.
My best wishes for a wonderful school year.
— Jeanne Huybrechts, Head of School
